After the passing of her husband, Mrs. Mahajan takes care of four institutions, and lives a comfortable lifestyle with her two sons - Dr. Mohan and his wife, Maya; and Advocate Subhash Mahajan, his wife, Savitri, and their daughter, Rani. Savitri is unhappy as she wants a career for herself. She finally gets a chance to prove her skills in social services when she gets a job offer as Superintendent of a Women's Reformatory Home in distant Sangamwadi. Although Rani and Subhash as well as the rest of the family oppose her going, she has made up her mind.

Due to a plague epidemic in Pune, the British Government deputes C.W. Rand as Chairman of the Special Plague Committee, empowering him to do whatever is necessary to control the menace. Rand's heavy handed measures deeply offend local sensibilities, driving a group of angry youngsters to assassinate him and Lt. Charles Ayerst- the first outbreak of revolutionary activities in British India.